Obama: 'Prosperity Has Never Come from the Top Down'

Daniel Halper

June 22, 2012 3:14 PM

Speaking this afternoon to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Orlando, Florida, President Obama stated that "in this country, prosperity has never come from the top down."

"[Republicans] believe the best way to grow the economy is from the top down. So they want to roll back regulations, and give insurance companies and credit card companies and mortgage lenders even more power to do as they please. They want to spend $5 trillion on new tax cuts -- including a 25-percent tax cut for every millionaire in the country. And they want to pay for it by raising middle-class taxes and gutting middle-class priorities like education and training and health care and medical research," Obama said. "And that’s it. That's it. That’s their economic plan. When they tell you they can do better, that’s their idea of doing better. When they tell you they know how to fix the economy, that’s exactly how they plan to do it. And I think they’re wrong. I think they’re wrong."

The president continued: "In this country, prosperity has never come from the top down. It comes from a strong and growing middle class, and creating ladders of opportunity for all those who are striving to get into the middle class. It comes from successful, thriving small businesses that over time grow into medium-size and then large businesses. We don’t need more top-down economics. What we need is a better plan for education and training, and energy independence, and innovation, and infrastructure that can rebuild America. What we need is a tax code that encourages companies to create jobs and manufacturing here in the United States, and, yes, asks the wealthiest Americans to help pay down the deficit."